Introduction and Goal

My name is Petey, and I am FAT.

Allow me to further explain, I am a 26 year old farm boy from West Central Illinois. I tend to tower over most people at 6’-4”, but I also weigh 464 pounds.

My entire life I have been “big,” for as long as I can remember. At the age of four when I was in preschool I was bigger than everyone else, and it has only progressed from there. By third grade, I weighed 130 pounds.

I remember this because it was one of the first times in my life where I understood how big I was. During class one day, I believe the lesson was on weights and measures. The discussion turned to how thing of different size or shape can have similar weights. As the teacher was making her explanation, she began to talk about her size and weight. A tall, thin woman, she stands somewhere between 5’-10” and 6’ and thin as a rail, 120 pounds. She asked if anyone in class was about that weight. Everyone looked at me. So I got to go to the front of the class and be part of an explanation about how people and objects can have similar weights, but be shaped differently.

In Junior High School, I wanted to play football. Seventh grade was fun, but in eighth grade, it really started to become obvious to me that I was really big. When we were getting equipment, there was no helmet to fit my head. So the coach sends me to talk to the high school Varsity coach. He had a helmet that would fit. I required the biggest helmet in all the varsity equipment. A helmet too even big for any of the high school players. Four years later, I played football again for my senior year, and when I was getting my equipment, there was no helmet for me, they were all too small. I had to go find the helmet I had used in eighth grade again.

Quite frankly, I am sick and tired. I am tired of being the big guy who people feel sorry for. I am tired of having to worry about what furniture I sit on for fear of breaking it, especially at someone’s house. I am tired of the back pain that goes with carrying this much weight. I am tired of always having to worry about when I am going to have blood pressure or cholesterol problems. I am tired of the constant joint pain. I am tired of being too big to fit into chairs at concerts, or on airplanes, or buses. I am tired of being the big lumbery guy. I am tired of getting winded after climbing a couple flights of stairs.

But I am going to change all this. I have made the commitment. I am going to change my life. I will be able to run and play with my dog. I will play baseball with my nephew. I will be able to hunt the grasslands for pheasants all day, or be able to go all day hunting elk or bear.

The Goal

So I have my task in front of me. From 464 pounds to my goal of 245, I am going to travel this road to become happier and healthier.